Don’t let Republicans destroy the EPA

Sign the petition

The petition to the U.S. House reads:

"I urge you to vote no on H.R. 861, 'To terminate the Environmental Protection Agency.' The EPA is essential for protecting our environment. If it were eliminated, we’d lose important safeguards for our air, water, and climate. Please stand up for our environment by opposing this bill."

Republicans in Congress are set to destroy environmental protections for generations to come unless we act now.

Extreme right-wing Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz introduced a one-line bill that would “terminate” the Environmental Protection Agency on Dec. 31, 2018.1 If passed, it would be a nightmare scenario for the climate, public health and the people most threatened by air and water pollution.

Decades of hard-fought progress to slash toxic air pollution, reduce dangerous water pollution and slow the effects of climate change would be completely undone. We can’t allow that to happen.

Tell the U.S. House: Reject legislation to eliminate the EPA.

Rep. Gaetz has a long history of opposing environmental regulations and has passed legislation at the state level that rolled back protections for clean air. In an email obtained by the Huffington Post, Gaetz told his fellow Republican colleagues, “Today, the American people are drowning in rules and regulations promulgated by unelected bureaucrats, and the Environmental Protection Agency has become an extraordinary offender.”2

Scott Pruitt, Donald Trump’s EPA administrator, recently claimed that carbon dioxide is not a leading contributor to climate change and will likely support this legislation.3 Trump is already moving swiftly to defund the EPA, having called for a 31 percent cut in its budget which would decimate the implementation of the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, roll back regulations on the fossil fuel industry, dismantle programs that protect vulnerable and minority communities and slash civil enforcement.4

We have a real shot at stopping this bill before it moves forward any further. An overwhelming majority of Americans want the EPA preserved or strengthened, and even among Republicans support is strong.5 The defeat of Trumpcare shows that our activism works. Now we need to stop Republicans in Congress from eliminating the one agency singularly tasked with protecting our environment. The future of our planet is at stake.